The Apartment Colored in Crimson Red
by H-MangaEnthusiast
Summary: Mind of a child is both simple and complex at the same time.


Pre notes: Author finally comes from the dead after 3 or so months… probably when no one remembers him anymore. Sigh. Very sorry for that, but you know… life and all that crap…

* * *

Disclamer: Eva is sadly not mine, but it's probably not yours either, so you probably understand my pain.

-XXX-

Ikari household was once a happy place.

It was your typical, triplet family you'd see in your everyday life; husband, wife and son. Living in the upper districts of Tokyo 3, as it was practical vicinity for families of that type, they were the stereotype of modern family.

Father was a dedicated, working man who gave his best to provide his residents with everything they needed, from material goods to attention and warmth. With a job that needed him to be a disciplinary figure, he still managed to remain his own self around the ones he held dear. And even when he had to dedicate his whole being to progress higher in rank, there was not a time in his life when he would complain. He knew his priorities, what was important to him, and why he did what he did. Shinji loved his father.

His mother was still relatively young, always giving her best and always reaching for the heavens. She possessed a burning spirit very few could match, and because of that, her success as a businesswoman in her line of work was absolute. Unlike his father, his mother preferred to work at home, tangle herself in her research while taking care of her young one. Her attention was always split, one eye was always on the big piles of papers and the other one was always on him. Shinji loved his mother.

But even so, no one could guarantee that their happiness would last forever. What was once family of three, soon turned into family of two, then became a family of three again. Once his father was gone, his mother changed. In fact, a lot of things changed. She was no longer her usual self. Her attention drifted elsewhere, far away from him or her work. These days, her new friends took most of her time, and her job seemed like just one of her secondary occupations. Her attitude towards him changed, but even so, Shinji still loved his mother.

Rei, their new family member, was a small, fragile girl of his age, maybe two or three days apart. He met her a while ago, way before his father travelled overseas to the place called Hell. His mother brought her home one day, introduced them, then asked him to play with her, to show her what kids of their age did. At first, Rei was very shy and constantly took shelter behind furniture, like she was afraid of him or of something about him, of something elusive to him as well, but even so, she soon joined him when he was drawing, building house or just eating chips on a sofa. Later on, his mother brought her home more frequently. Shinji and Rei both started to look forward to their rendezvous, and not so long from that, Rei became his precious friend.

Nowadays, Rei was living with them. One day his mother just brought her home and told them that Rei will be staying here for some time. Shinji was very pleased to hear that, mostly because he had no one to spend his time with when his father was overboard and his mother did what his mother did. Rei was not really keen on showing emotion or speaking, but she thanked his mother with an honest expression. He was never exactly sure why.

-XXX-

Shinji Ikari, a boy of 6 or 7, spent his afternoons in the living room, either watching TV or drawing. He and Rei sat on the sofa, one inch apart, waiting for their mother to wake up and make them something to eat. They knew very well that Mother hated when they woke her up. They made that mistake once, made her very groggy, which resulted with her yelling for most of the day. Because of that experience, the TV was off, for better or worse.

A faint noise could be heard from Rei's tummy.

"You are hungry," Shinji told to her, observing her as her small arms rubbed her stomach.

"Yes," She replied simply.

"We have bacon from yesterday in the fridge," He offered, "but I think it's no good."

"I don't like meat," Rei told him with a shook of her head. Shinji nodded.

"Jam?"

"We ate it yesterday," She reminded him.

"We have chocolate," He said, pointing under the table, "I hid it there few days ago." He slowly got off the sofa, then crawled under the table and pulled it out.

"You opened it already," Rei said. "Now it's old… and not tasty."

Shinji took a small bite, then started to chew. "I like it," He told her, then swallowed.

Her belly growled again. "I'll take one bar please."

He offered it and she took it. It wasn't much but it was enough to satisfy them until their mother decided to wake up. As they munched, they could hear Mother's bedroom doors opening, followed by the faint footsteps. Finally, they both sighed in relief.

Figure stopped in the middle of the living room, between them and TV. For their surprise it wasn't their mother, it was a grown man, a stranger without clothes. All three of them blinked in surprise. The kids remained immobile while the man went pale. The figure quickly covered himself and backed off. Their heads followed him as he started backing away to the bedroom, still watching the children with shocked expression. When he was out of sight, children continued to stare into empty room.

"I don't know this man," Shinji thought loudly.

"Me neither," Rei replied, staring at her feet.

"Do you think he's mommy's friend," Shinji asked her, still observing the place where he left out of sight, like he was still captivated by the unusual scenery.

"I guess," Rei told him silently, not looking away from her feet.

They heard a loud noise from their bedroom. Mother was yelling and something fell on the ground. They could hear the stranger's voice rising. "You sad nothing about the kids…"

"She is mad," Rei mumbled silently.

"Her friend made her mad?" Shinji said. Rei was unsure if he spoke to her.

She nodded, leaning closer to his side. A laud thump sounded through the house, followed by even more yelling, Mother's voice in particular. Rei pulled her feel to her chest.

"Why are they fighting if they're friends?" Shinji asked out of blur, still dazed, still focused on the nothingness he stared at.

His question was confusing, and she didn't know how to give a proper reply. She remained silent for a while, letting the noise calm down a bit, then averted her gaze from her feet on his emotionless expression. "We don't fight," she told him, returning her gaze back on her small feet.

Shinji nodded, his composure intact.

"Adults do that," She told him, not even sure what she was trying to tell him.

"Adults sleep a lot." He said.

"Yes."

A silence engulfed the house. The bedroom went silent and neither Shinji or Rei made any move or sound. The only sound that was now heard was the silent sobbing from the bedroom.

"I've seen this before," Shinji spoke.

Rei remained silent, leaving Shinji to his thoughts. They remained still until bedroom doors opened and perked their curiosity again. An unknown man walked out and rushed for the exit, and this time he was fully clothed. The man gave them a short glance and forced a smile, then opened the entrance doors and nodded his departure.

They did as they were thought. "Good bye, come again," They said in unison.

They mother appeared a second later, chasing after the man and yelling some incoherent, strange words that they knew nothing of, neither the use or meaning.

"Mommy, we're hungry." Shinji called after her.

"Shut up!" the woman yelled back, then slamming the doors behind her, leaving them completely alone.

The boy bowed his head, his fair hiding his expression, but from the pace of his breathing and constant sniffs Rei could tell that he was tearing up. She slowly got off the couch, then went to the kitchen, opened the fridge and turned back. The boy looked up and saw his blue haired friend holding a plate with bacon in her small arms.

"Eat it," She told him, almost in demanding tone.

Shinji wiped his nose and took the plate, then placed it on the couch. He took one strip, then turned. "You eat?" He asked with half-filled mouth.

"Yes," She replied, then took one strip herself. She observed it closely, forming a disgusted expression on her face. She swallowed, gathered all her wits together, then took a bite.

"Yuck!"

"We must clean our plates or the bogyman will come and eat us," Shinji stated.

Rei nodded in agreement, then took another bite.

-XXX-

It was late at night. The lights in Tokyo 3 went out and the whole neighborhood went silent. Passing vehicles and occasional passengers were the only sounds that echoed through vacant looking streets.

"It's lovely," Rei said, breaking the silence that defined Ikari household.

"I like this show as well," Shinji replied, his gaze still ogling the screen.

"I was talking about the weather," Rei corrected him. An annoyed expression formed on her face, or at least the closest thing to one she could manage.

Shinji took a second to look outside the window, then he returned to his previous occupation. "It's nice… I guess."

"It is." She huffed.

Shinji nodded.

"It's very nice," She told him, her tone almost seemed demanding.

Shinji nodded again.

"You don't like it because you're afraid of the dark," She continued.

Shinji caught her gaze, but did nothing. With a weak nod, he returned back to the screen. She didn't know if he was even listening to her.

Rei remained silent for a while, then spoke again. "You don't like me; you only like TV-kun."

Shinji sighed. "You're a liar," He told her without emotion.

His voice was low, but it stroke the nerve. Rei remained silent and decided to join in. There wasn't much about the cartoon, it was just something goofy about some hero and giant robots, a classical kids show that didn't differ from any other.

It went on for 10 minutes and in the meantime, no one bothered to say anything, at least until Rei got sick of it. "Am I boring?" She asked him straightforwardly.

"No." The boy replied instantly.

"Then why don't you talk to me?" She demanded.

"I'm thinking," Shinji replied after a brief pause.

"Tell me what you're thinking about," Rei told him. Her face was now closer to his.

"Adults," He replied simply.

Rei blinked. "How they sleep a lot?"

"No," He replied. He took the remote, then lowered the volume, "I want to become an adult."

Rei blinked again, this time even more confused. "Why?" She finally asked.

"Because adults have no rules," He replied, then paused, allowing the silence to swallow the room once again. A moment passed. Since Rei didn't respond but only stared, he decided to explain himself. "Adults eat whenever they want, they can go outside and no one tells them what to do."

Rei nodded, even though she didn't understand everything so clear. "How do you think we'll become adults?" She asked.

"We? " Shinji asked, "I wanted to become one first."

"It doesn't matter, I want it too," She told him, "Go on."

"Hmpf," the boy puffed, then looked elsewhere.

"So, what do we do?" Rei asked.

Shinji shrugged. "I don't know," he replied, "I guess I've been thinking about that."

"Ideas?"

"I think we should try doing things adults do," Shinji told her, "I can't think of anything else."

Rei nodded. "What do adults do?"

Shinji blinked, then crossed his arms. "I… um, they cry when they're sad... I think."

"We already do that," Rei told him with narrowed eyes, "what else?"

Shinji rubbed the back of his head. "Adults don't watch cartoons… mommy watches cooking shows."

Rei nodded, then snatched the remote from his hands and switched the program to the cooking show. Shinji thought nothing of it; he just accepted it and moved on with the list.

"Adults sleep in the same room with their friends," Shinji continued, "… and I have nothing else."

"We do that as well," Rei told him, "we'll think of something else tomorrow, but for now cooking shows it is."

Shinji nodded, then took the remote back and turned up the volume, and with that their first step to adulthood began. Both of them observed in silence, captivated by host's commentary about every little detail about the meat; the correct way to cut it, to skin it, to prepare it. Their little minds began to store the information, and not soon after, they knew everything.

-XXX-

Faint sound of woman's heels startled both children. After hours and hours of TV, Mother finally came home. The children stopped in their tracks and got into their usual positions, greeted her then waited until they were addressed.

It was a gamble. They never knew how Mother would act. If her mood was bad, then it would be bad. And if it was good, then it wouldn't be as bad.

The knob clicked, door slowly opened and Mother came into view. She passed through the hallway, put her umbrella in the holder, then stopped upon seeing both children standing like little pioneers. Mother observed them for a brief time. They couldn't tell anything from her expression.

In swift motion, Mother dropped on her knees and grabbed them in a tight hug. "I'm home," she told them, her voice very weak and crackly. Both children took it, grabbed her tighter and did what came natural to them. It was a shocker, but a wanted one.

Shinji felt sad. It was not unusual for him. It was one of those times when he felt weird because of something alien. It happened when his mother sat in the dark, holding one of pictures from times when he, she and daddy went to summer camp. He never knew why she did what she did; he only knew that watching other people do weird things in the dark made him sad inside.

Mother pulled away from them, gave them a quick glance, a faint smile, then stood up and went to the kitchen.

Both children remained still, both confused by the unexpected turn of events. None of them knew how to act, what to think or what to hope for. This situation was alien, and so was that woman who was preparing their food.

"Is anyone for some noodles?" She asked, her breathing was heavy and uneasy. Her running nose gave her away.

"Mommy, did you catch a cold?" Shinji asked, innocence of his voice showed best of intentions.

Woman wiped her nose in her sleeve. "No, honey, mommy is fine."

Shinji nodded, partially satisfied. "I love mine with eggs." He told her as he walked to the couch, then sat near Rei.

"I know what you like, sweetie," She told him, her voice easier than before. "Rei, you like vegetables?"

"Yes," Rei answered quietly. Her faint voice never reached the kitchen, but the woman didn't need her answer to know what to do.

"So, what did you kids do wh-…" The woman's voice cracked, making her move her head away, partially in anger, partially in shame.

"I drew an apple," Shinji answered her. "Rei drew a pineapple, and then we watched TV."

"I drew apple as well," Rei corrected. She sounded annoyed, and told it lauder than she usually would.

Shinji blinked. "It's an ugly apple." He concluded.

Rei hit him, then gave him a mean look.

Shinji huffed, then looked away. Rei knew how to hit. His shoulder hurt, but he faked strong poise for the sake of it.

Woman chuckled. "It's done," She announced with amused tome. She carefully placed the food on the plates, then took them to children. The moment the plates were put, children grabbed them and started devouring their content. She sat across them and observed them as they ate.

"Is it good?" She asked them.

"It's good," Shinji replied with half-filled mouth. Rei nodded.

"I'm not completely useless after all," the woman thought loudly. Both children ignored her statement like it was a sound of the wind. The only thing on their mind right now was food. Food, and only food.

The woman observed them until they were done. She watched them as they put down their plates, gave their thanks, then leaned back on the couch. She had nothing to say. They observed her in silence, their small orbs following her every move. None said anything or did anything. Everything was silent.

Shinji and Rei tapped their bellies, both satisfied with their food.

"So… anything else happened?" the woman asked them.

"We and Shinji learned how to cook," Rei replied.

"Now we will cook for ourselves when you're not around," Shinji added.

Mother blinked in surprise. "Is that so…" She said, placing her palms on her knees, "that's…. lovely."

Without anything to say anymore, the unpleasant silence engulfed the room once again, but was soon disrupted by Shinji's yawn, and Rei's one second after.

"Aren't you getting sleepy?" Mother asked in relaxed tone. Her question complemented their sleepiness, so they both nodded.

They got up on their feet, then let Mother guide them to their bedroom. Before they went in, Mother lowered herself on their knees and tapped them on the head.

"You'll be fine," She told them, "you're both great kids."

At first Shinji was unsure of what to do, but in the end he just nodded, and Rei, who was in a similar dilemma, did the same. With that, their mother leaned closer and pecked their foreheads.

"Can you please do me a favor?" Mother asked them.

They both nodded.

"Don't leave your room or do any noises," she said, "I'm having a guest tonight."

"One of your friends," Shinji asked in confusion.

Mother opened her mouth to respond, but the sound didn't come out. Instead, she looked at the kids and smiled. Then she stood up and went to her bedroom, almost tripping on her way as she walked.

Children observed her until her doors closed. They both knew the difference between her normal and her faked, unconvincing smile. In this case, it was the latter, and they never liked the consequences of that smile. Children waved their farewells and went into the room.

They both changed into their pajamas, then sat on the bed.

"It's strange," Shinji said.

"What do you mean?" Rei asked him.

"I don't know why adults invite friends when they're sad," He explained.

"To become… not-sad?" Rei offered.

Shinji bobbed his head. "What do they even do?" He asked, still tangled inside his thoughts.

"I know what adults do," Rei told him silently.

Shinji looked up. "What?"

"Games," She replied.

"What games?" He demanded.

"Weird games…" Rei replied, then pulled her legs to her chest and hugged them, "really weird games."

"Rei, are you lying?" Shinji asked her, unconvinced.

"No," She replied silently, "I know it."

"Rei you are lying again," Shinji told her, his voice rang with annoyance.

"I'm not lying," She yelled at him, laud enough to create an echo.

They were silent until echo was no longer present. Shinji hushed her but she was persistent. "Fuyutsuki-sensei though me." She said loudly.

"Okay, okay," Shinji told her, waving his arms in attempt to calm her down. "I believe you, Rei."

"Hmph!"

Shinji sighed. "I really do believe you. I swear on TV-kun's name."

"Okay," Rei said calmly, confusing the boy with the sudden change, "do you want me to teach you how?"

Shinji blinked. Her voice sounded weird again. "Umm… why?"

"Because… we need to do things adults do. Remember?"

"Oh… then what do we do?" Shinji asked her. He suddenly felt anxious.

Rei looked around herself, behind the bed and in the closet.

"We will need more blankets." she said.

-XXX-

It was late afternoon and Mother was not coming out of her bedroom. It wasn't unusual for her to sleep a lot, but this time children got too hungry and decided to wake her up. This was, after all, a unique situation. She slept five more hours than she usually would, so they had no other choice.

If it weren't for the growling of their stomachs, the house would be dead silent. They slowly opened the doors, making some noise while doing so, but there was no response from inside the room. Children concluded that she was still sleeping, then they opened the doors completely.

And they were right; Mother was still peacefully sleeping in her bed.

They got close to her, exchanged looks with each other, nodded to themselves, then shook her arms, but she wasn't responding. They tried again, and again, and again, but there was no movement or any indication of waking up. She was just laying there, covered in red jam, completely still.

"Adults have no rules," Shinji said. He was not even bothering to be silent anymore, since it seemed that all their attempts were in vain. And besides, Mother seemed to be sleeping very peacefully, so they even felt bad for trying to wake her up.

"They sure sleep a lot," Rei said.

"And they even eat food in bed," Shinji said with a shake of his head, "Mother never allows us to bring food in bed, and she gets to eat jam. That's unfair."

Rei nodded. "She is very messy."

It was true. The woman was covered in red jam from her knees to her head, and some of it was dripping on the floor and making small pools on the carpet. Even the white blankets changed color to crimson red. Rei dipped a finger in it and licked it.

"Yuck," She exclaimed, almost spiting it out, "I don't like this new jam."

"We should go," Shinji told her all of a sudden, then grabbed her small arm, "she is resting and I have an idea."

He started to pull her hand and she followed his lead. Their footsteps left red marks on the carpets, all the way to the exit. Shinji looked back once more. He carefully studied Mother's face, the way she looked perfectly tranquil without a single care in this world. On their way Rei dipped her arm in the jam once more, accidentally splashing some on her clothes while doing so.

"Rei, watch out. You got it on me as well." Shinji told her, now looking at his t-shirt, stained with crimson red.

Rei rolled her eyeballs. "It was there all the time."

They went out and Shinji closed the doors behind them. He let go of Rei's hand, then went to the fridge and opened it.

"We will make our own food because we'll become adults," Shinji said.

"Can we make something with this jam," Rei asked, licking her fingers, "it gets better."

"Sure, but I can't find anything," the boy replied in disbelief, "the fridge is completely empty."

"Then we can get more jam," Rei told him, still licking her small hands.

Shinji gave her a look, then sighed. "It's all over your face."

"Oh." Rei passed over her face, then licked what she got.

"I'm out of ideas," Shinji said in defeat. He closed the fridge, then went in the living room and sat on the sofa. Rei followed.

His tummy was still growling, and so did Rei's. And without mommy around, it would get worse. Shinji started to think, but his hunger prevented him from coming up with anything that wasn't about how delicious the food is.

"I have an idea," Rei told him all of a sudden.

Shinji blinked. "Really?"

"Yes, really," Rei replied, narrowing her eyes, "we're going outside."

"But we're not allowed to go outside." Shinji said. His voice rang with obvious worry.

"We are becoming adults," Rei assured him, "so it's only natural that we're allowed outside. And besides, Mother won't notice."

Shinji wanted to protest, but his stomach denied him. He settled down with a meek nod.

"Good. We'll need a hammer."

-XXX-

"Mr. Sparkles?" Shinji wondered out loud.

Rei nodded, tapping the cat on the head. Mr. Sparkles was their neighbor's kitty. She was always sleeping in her box in the hallways. That's, at least, the only place she was ever seen. They were told that she went inside every now and then, to pick up her food, but they thought it was very unlikely. Maybe on some rare occasions, like rain or wind.

"Really? B-but… that's not what the cook said," Shinji told her.

Rei shook her head. "Yes, but all the meat is prepared in the same way."

"I didn't know that cats were made of meat." Shinji said in confusion.

"They are. Didn't you see the commercials for cat food?"

"Cat food is made from cats?" Shinji wondered, giving her the confused look.

"Duhh," Rei replied, "what else could they be made of? Porridge?"

"Well… that makes sense."

Rei got up, placed the hammer in his hands, then lowered herself on her knees and gently placed her arms around Mr. Sparkles.

"Do it," She told him.

Shinji studied his hammer. It was heavy, and rusty. He looked down on the kitty that was barely moving. Her eyes were closed and she seemed peaceful. Just like mother.

With a nod and without hesitation, he steadied the hammer behind his head, then slammed it directly into back of Mr. Sparkles' head, all the way through his occiput, sending all types of matter in the air. The sound passed through the hallways. Probably everyone in their building could hear it, but there was no sound from anywhere. Everything was pleasantly silent.

The impact splashed color red all over the children; it got on their clothes, their faces, their hands. It was everywhere, but most of it splashed the floor and the walls. Color green and yellow purred down the kitten's opened head, then mixed with red and gave the whole new variety of color. It looked as jelly, perfectly mashed together with brown beans. Their stomachs growled.

It took Shinji around three attempts to pull the hammer out. And when he did, children were introduced to the whole new perspective on kitten's appearance. The strange ribbed creation oozed a strange mixture of red and white. It smelled weird and for their surprise it emitted some heat.

"It looks funny," Rei commented, circling through the liquid with her finger.

Shinji nodded. He poked the matter with his finger. It was warm and slimy. Just like a jam.

"This one is tastier," Rei said, licking some of it from her fingers.

"Let's go," Shinji told her, looking around himself, "mommy might catch us. That would be bad."

"Okay," Rei agreed. She grabbed the kitty with both of her hands, then pulled it up to her chest and started to carry it to the apartment. It was heavy, and slippery.

Shinji opened the doors for her and they were in. They never noticed the red stains they left behind.

-XXX-

"Give me the knife please," Rei told him.

"Are you sure that this is how it's done?" Shinji asked her, still unconvinced.

"Yes," She replied, then took the knife from his hand, "that's how man on the cooking show said."

"I don't think it goes that way," He insisted. He also thought that leaving the kitty on the table wasn't the best idea. It continued to drip red, so they've made a complete mess out of the living room. Mommy wouldn't like it, but Rei was determined.

"It does, and it does." Rei told him. She took the knife and stabbed it into the kitty, then passed down its whole length. Shinji observed her handwork in amazement.

Red juice came out as the knife passed. When Rei was done, she pulled out a knife and opened the stomach with her hands. It was a weird sight. The interior was quite similar to the head, yet there were a lot of weird, jelly-looking sponges inside the white rocks.

"Grab its legs and let's turn it around." Rei told him.

He obeyed. He grabbed the kitty for her legs and Rei got its arms. Together, in a swift motion, they managed to pull it up, then turn it around, making the interior fall down from its stomach. The impact splashed some liquids on their clothes again. Even so, it hardly mattered. After all, they were already soaked from their toes to their heads.

"We will need spices," Rei instructed, "meat and jam alone are not tasty enough."

"I'll look in the cabinet," Shinji said, then quickly ran and grabbed as much as he could hold.

He returned and placed them on a couch. His steps left a trail along the house. "So… which ones do we use."

Rei picked up the one that looked like it had green dust in it. "I like this one."

Shinji picked up one as well. His looked like red powder. "And I like this one."

They poured them in, then picked up few more and poured them in as well. They knew that professional cooks used a bit of everything for each of their meals, so they found their actions excused. Then they put their hands inside and mixed them in like the guys on TV did, and with that, they were done. It smelled funny, but their stomachs were in control.

They grabbed the kitty in similar manner as before, then carried it to the oven. Rei opened it up and Shinji put her in. Their little arms left red all over the machine, but none cared.

"Do you know how to turn it on?" Shinji asked her.

"No. I thought you knew." Rei replied.

Shinji rolled his eyeballs. "Then how do we cook it?"

Rei looked around herself, then got an idea. "We'll use newspapers and matches."

"Oh, good idea." Shinji agreed. How didn't he think of that?

They took some paper from Mother's pile of magazines, then put it under Mr. Sparkles. Rei lit the match and put in on the newspaper. When the flame spread all over the paper and Mr. Sparkles, they closed the hatch and observed as the black smoke filled the interior. In just few seconds they could no longer see anything through the glass.

"So… how long do we wait?" Shinji asked in anticipation. He felt like his stomach was working like never before. Rei was in the same pinch.

"Around 30 minutes… but we will wait 10 because I'm hungry." She replied, holding onto her tummy.

He nodded, then sat in front of the oven. Rei did the same. At first, the oven smelled weird, but later on their sense of smell was completely gone. They stopped thinking about anything that wasn't Mr. Sparkles. They could no longer smell.

"Is it done yet?" Shinji spoke from his stomach.

"Wait a bit more…" Rei told him. Her belly said otherwise.

"Do you think that mommy would want some?" Shinji asked her.

"I don't think she liked Mr. Sparkles. She always called him dumb cat."

Shinji nodded in understanding. But his mind didn't register her answer. "Is it done now?" He repeated.

"N-…" Rei paused. She looked at Shinji who was looking at her. None of them could bear any extra minutes or wait. The moment was now. Their hunger was at its worst.

"It's done. " She announced.

They couldn't afford to lose an extra second; they hurried up and opened the hatch like their life depended on it. But the moment they opened it, back smoke rose and blurred their vision, making them cough until the smoke escaped through the balcony. They couldn't smell it, but it made their eyes water.

When that was over, they used the tools from the drawers to carry it on the table in very fast pace. They didn't even look at their creation, nor could they even smell it. Their reasoning was somewhere else, far away from this apartment colored in crimson red.

Their food was now on their table. They skipped their graces and dived right in. Their little fingers started to rip it apart. They started to pull out its legs out. Its head was no longer there. They rip opened its stomach. Their teeth chewed on its burnt tail. After only few minutes, nothing beside the white rocks remained.

Everything was painted in red.

"Was it tasty," Rei asked him, the boy sitting on a couch, one inch apart from her.

"Yeah…"

Rei nodded, satisfied.

Shinji yawned. He felt very sleepy. The strength was slowly leaving his body and his face was losing color. He could no longer feel his stomach. In matter of fact, he could no longer feel anything but exhaustion. After a couple seconds he lacked strength to get up on his feat, so he remained there, sitting on a couch, one inch apart from Rei.

Rei, who was already pale as snow, started yawning as well. Needless to say that her strength left her body. Her head grew heavy, so she rested it on Shinji's shoulder, then closed her eyes.

It was already dark outside, but children didn't notice it by now. The streets went silent again, and this time, however, there wasn't any noises coming from occasional passengers or running vehicles. Everything was perfectly tranquil. Just the way it should be.

"Good night, Rei," Shinji told her, resting his head on hers, making his black hair mix with her blue.

"Good night, Shinji, "She told him, snuggling closer to him, making herself more comfortable.

Every eye in Ikari household were now closed. A silent moment passed in the apartment colored in crimson red.

"Hey," Rei asked silently, "do you think we're adults now?"

"Yes," He replied, "just like mommy."

* * *

AN – Phew. Don't think much of this one-shot. I just wanted to do something to remind fandom of my existence (hur durp), and to polish my writing skills (which is currently no good at all) so I can handle my other stories better. (btw, sorry for the long absence) Yes, Rei was very OC, but since we're talking about her raised up by "Mother" and the fact that she's 5, 6 or 7… it makes it logically plausible… or at least I found the OC excused. Shrugs. But that's just how kids work; 1000 ifs and whys, and I doubt that Rei would be any different. But what do I know? I'm just a guy who thought that annoying little sister-ish Rei would be cute…

And now that I've lost all the credibility I might, or might not have had…... Affiliation… sooooon.


End file.
